Here is an ironic shocker about the vagaries of the entertainment industry. By now every box office analyst and trade guru knows that Sudipto Sen’s The Kerala Story is a certifiable blockbuster.

Hence on reading reports that The Kerala Story will be streaming very shortly, when I touched base with Sudipto, he shocked me with his response. “We still haven’t got a suitable offer from any OTT platform for The Kerala Story.”

But what about all the reports of the film being ready for streaming? Says Sudipto, “No no. That’s fake news. We are still waiting for a good workable deal from any of the main OTT platforms. But so far, we have not got any offer worth considering. It seems the film industry has ganged up to punish us.”

But punishment for what? “Our box office success has irked many sections of the film industry. We have a feeling that a section of the entertainment industry has united to punish us for our success.”

When I contacted one of the leading OTT platforms to ask why a film as successful The Kerala Story has yet to get a digital outlet, the response was not surprising. “We don’t want to get into anything politically controversial.”

Interestingly, speaking to Bollywood Hungama a well-placed industry source says, “The Kerala Story did fare well at the box office; however, the topic of the film and its subject matter is something that could invoke a tremendous amount of ire from a certain section of the audience. Given this fact no major OTT player is ready to acquire the film.” Reasoning further why The Kerala Story is not finding takers on OTT, the source continues, “You must understand that The Kerala Story comes across as a propaganda film, while OTT channels have been focusing on more intelligent, thought provoking and entertaining subjects. In such a case, a film like The Kerala Story does not fit into the genres.”